They Love His…What?

The Curmudgeon’s days as a football fan are visible only in the rear-view mirror these days but with the National Football League draft in Philadelphia last weekend it was impossible to avoid exposure to the three-day extravaganza in which young men at the top of their field are stripped of their fundamental right to choose where they will earn their living and systematically assigned to employers they may or may not like to work in places they may or may not wish to work.

One of the things that caught his eye at the draft was when the Pittsburgh Steelers trotted out the legendary old-time professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino to announce one of their draft choices. Wrestling, too, is something The Curmudgeon left behind long ago, but the opportunity to see Sammartino was too good to resist so he searched for a clip featuring the grappler making the announcement.

Once Sammartino made the announcement, ESPN’s talking heads launched into their instant analysis of the team’s selection. The young man in question is Brian Allen, and he plays the position of cornerback. At a height of six feet three inches, Allen is a bit taller than most people who play this position, and the ESPN broadcasters brought this to viewers’ attention by noting that Pittsburgh “loves his length.”

They couldn’t say “He’s taller than most cornerbacks.”

They had to say the team loves his length. In fact, they used the word “length” more than once.